Lord Sugar was slammed after comparing the Senegal football team to Marbella beach touts

After the tweet sparked a race storm on social media, Lord Sugar deleted it - but refused to apologise, calling the reaction "OTT" and insisting it was only a "bloody joke".

He told his 5.47 million followers: “Just been reading the reaction to my funny tweet about the guy on the beach in Marbella . Seems it has been interpreted in the wrong way as offensive by a few people . Frankly I cant see that I think it's funny. But I will pull it down if you insist.”

An hour and twenty minutes after posting the initial image, the peer finally apologised for the offending tweet.

He said: "I misjudged me earlier tweet. It was in no way intended to cause offence, and clearly my attempt at humour has backfired. I have deleted the tweet and am very sorry."

"I will be writing to the House of Lords Commissioner for Standards and the @BBC calling for an immediate investigation. Racism has no place in Parliament or society. Swift action must be taken."

She added: "It's time the BBC pulled Lord Sugar into the boardroom and told him 'you're fired'".

Very troubled after seeing @Lord_Sugar racist tweet. I will be writing to the House of Lords Commissioner for Standards and the @BBC calling for an immediate investigation. Racism has no place in Parliament or society. Swift action must be taken. pic.twitter.com/43aXhBYUyi

Lord Sugar described the tweet as a 'bloody joke', adding 'I can't see what I have to apologise for'

The ex-Tottenham Hotspur chairman had faced a barrage of criticism when he posted the picture this morning.

BBC journalist Babita Sharma wrote: "A shocking, vile tweet that you take a screen grab of because you know it will soon be deleted."

Responding to that, Lord Sugar told her: "if it so vile why have you retweeted it . You make me sick."

Actress Kelechi Okafor tweeted: "Just based on their Blackness @Lord_Sugar as inferred the type of lifestyle accessible to the players.

"Imagine if Ireland were playing a match and someone photoshopped a potato field around them. It would be crude and unfunny.

"Lord Sugar is constructing this joke on the premise that all black people look alike, are poor and cannot achieve social mobility. This is why I say that racism is too deeply ingrained within the British psyche for certain people to even realise how damaging and hurtful their 'jokes' are."

Replying on Twitter, the 71-year-old said: "if its so bad why have you re tweeted it ."

Osasu Obayiuwana, the British-Nigerian Associate Editor of New African Magazine and contributor to the BBC’s World Football show, wrote: “Dear ⁦@Lord_Sugar⁩, I’m afraid no Senegalese or African will see this as funny. What you wrote was hurtful and plays to a racist stereotype.

"If you really don’t see what’s wrong with what you’ve written, you have a lot to learn still. You should know better!”

Senegal fan Pape Ndiaye, 47, said he was "absolutely" offended by the tweet.

Senegal fan Pape Ndiaye said he was 'absolutely' offended by the tweet, which Lord Sugar defended as a joke, before apologising and removing

Speaking in Moscow the day after his nation’s victory over Poland, he said: "That's one of the things that's going to keep me from going forward. It doesn't even make sense.

"(Sadio) Mane's making enough money to even pay him - whatever, I'm just being rude.

"But the bottom line is we don't need this kind of thing. I'm not into politics. Politics is not going to change the world - sport, music, entertainment are the kind of thing that can change the world."

The picture Lord Sugar posted dates back to November 15, 2014, when Senegal beat Egypt 1-0 in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match.

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The BBC, who broadcast The Apprentice, released a statement, saying: "Lord Sugar has acknowledged this was a seriously misjudged tweet, and he’s in no doubt about our view on this.

"It’s right he’s apologised unreservedly."

His post came as the BBC published a landmark report on career progression for its employees of black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, in a drive for "substantial culture change".

Earlier this year Lord Sugar faced criticism for a tweet that pictured the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, alongside Adolf Hitler. In that incident, he later responded: “It’s a joke, but the angry brigade like to moan.”